Page turners

Anyone who really knows me knows that I love to read - I have a voracious appetite for books, and am definitely one of those people who can lose myself in almost any story. As I've gotten older, I've found that I go back and forth between reading nothing for months at a time, and then reading everything I can get my hands on - just one of those ebbs and flows of life, I suppose. Lately, I've been on a reading spree, thanks to a random $10 Barnes and Noble gift card that I got in the mail. Normally, B&N coupons don't apply to nook books, which makes me sad, because I love reading on my nook. This one surprised me, though, and was good for anything! So I scooped up a book that's been on my "to read" list for quite a while, and followed that with another, and I've just now started my third book in three weeks. My brain is hungry! Here's a look at what I've been reading.

Amazon

 The Soldier's Wife

Margaret Leroy

One of my favorite genres is historical fiction, and I especially love anything set in the WWII era. This book followed the story of a soldier's wife, but rather than being set in Germany like many books are, it was set on an island off the coast of France. The imagery in this book was just fantastic - my mind's eye was over-flowing with the beautiful scenes of the island and the small village where the book takes place. The characters were easy to get into, and I enjoyed the time-progression: it moved smoothly through many years, without feeling like anything was left out. Great read!

Amazon

Blackberry Winter

Sarah Jio

My sorority's philanthropy is literacy, which is one of the things that attracted me to it in the first place, and in addition to encouraging and promoting literacy in children, they also do so among us members! Recently, Pi Phi launched a virtual book club called Pi Phi Pages, and this book is the first book on the list to read. I thought the book club sounded like fun, and the book sounded like a good read - so I added it to my nook. After the first chapter, I was hooked! This story featured the historical elements that I love, with a bit of mystery, and was just predictable enough that it was an easy read. However, there was a twist at the end that I wasn't exactly expecting, which I think is key to a great book! I finished this one in three days, and found myself really sympathetic for the main character. She was easy to relate to, even though I've never experienced what she had - the emotions portrayed by Sarah Jio are touching and realistic. I think this book set our book club off on just the right foot, and I can't wait to see what other readers had to say about it!